


The Care and Keeping of Kaiju- part 4

by NeverAndAlways



Series: A Kaiju in the Shatterdome [4]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Baby Kaiju, Gen, M/M, Mentioned Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, Newt and Hermann raise a baby kaiju, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-13 22:31:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1242952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverAndAlways/pseuds/NeverAndAlways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Owl gets a new home, and someone else gets in on the secret.</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Newton was awake. 

This was unusual; he was always a sound sleeper, and had been dreaming moments before. He lay there in the dark and stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out what had woken him, but the room was still. Maybe Owl was calling...no, the only sound was Hermann quietly snoring beside him. Oh well. Newt sighed and turned over- and got a face full of kaiju snout. 

《HUNGRY》

Just like that, the silent room turned into chaos: Newt screamed; Hermann awoke with a yelp and fumbled for both the light switch and his cane; and Owl, startled by the commotion, let out an earsplitting screech. 

"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME-?!"

"I DON'T KNOW, QUIT YELLING!"

A lamp flickered into life, and the two men looked around. Something on the floor whined; Newt peered over the edge of the bed to find Owl, her eyes round and black, trying to wedge herself underneath the bed. He sighed in mixed relief and annoyance. "Owl...!"

《SORRY HUNGRY SORRY》

"This is PRECISELY why I don't want her following us." Hermann hissed. 

"Yes, you were right, good job." Newt hissed back, ignoring the eye-roll he got from Hermann. "But first of all, how'd she- how'd you even get in here??" these last words were directed at the kaiju, who was still trying to make herself as small as possible (which was quite a task for such a big creature). She looked sheepishly up at him. "Yes, you. I'm pretty sure I locked that door."

《NO.》An image of the open storage room door popped into his mind.

《HUNGRY. MISS NEWT》

The scientist sighed again. "I missed you too, buddy. But you can't just go wandering the halls at night. People might see you." He put on his glasses and swung himself out of bed. Owl scuttled out of the way, then came back to twine around his legs with a chorus of 《HUNGRY》. "C'mon," he said, stifling a yawn. "Let's get you back to your room." He grabbed a T-shirt from the end of the bed and pulled it on, then headed for the door with Owl in tow. 

~**  ☆☆  **~

"This is the last straw," said Hermann the next morning, as they walked to the mess hall. "We can't have her following us around like some oversized, scaly duckling."

"Now that's quite a mental image." Newt scoffed. 

"Are you listening to me??"

"Right, yeah. Sorry."

"There is an unused warehouse on the other end of the base. If the Marshal gives us permission to use it, we can move her in there. She would have more space, and might be less inclined to leave." 

"And how do you propose we get her from A to B? In case you've forgotten, people aren't exactly used to seeing monsters roaming the halls-"

"Hey guys!" Tendo Choi sauntered around the corner, wearing his usual cheeky grin. "How goes it?"

"Hello, Tendo." Hermann put on a polite smile as they walked past. Suddenly, the young man turned around. 

"Oh! Hey! I dunno if you heard, but apparently there's been reports of some kind of big animal walking around in the base. They haven't found it yet, so it might just be a rumor, but..y'know. Keep your eyes peeled. Oh, and if you hurry, there might be some French toast left. See you around!" he waved and set off down the hallway, humming to himself as he went. Hermann and Newton stared speechlessly after him until he was out of sight.

~**  ★★★  *~ 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owl gets a new home, and someone else gets in on the secret.

The rest of the morning was a blur. They managed to get the Marshal's approval without raising too much suspicion, thanks to Hermann's negotiating skills; after that, several hours were spent packing crates with miscellaneous odds and ends, then transporting the crates across the base to the warehouse- as well as persuading Owl to stay put. She clung to the scientists like a worried child, plaguing them with questions. Newt tried to explain the situation to her as best he could, but that only made matters worse: when they tried to leave the room, she blocked their path, trilling anxiously and begging them to stay. At last Hermann relented, and stayed behind to comfort her while Newt moved the last of the crates. He sat on the floor and awkwardly stroked her crest while she laid her head across his lap, still chirping uneasily. 

They sat in relative silence for some time. Hermann no longer felt disgusted or frightened by the little beast (although she could hardly be called "little" now, at almost nine feet long), but he was still uneasy around her. Her telepathy made him especially nervous; he knew it was simply a result of his and Newt's Drift with Otachi's baby, but he was a very private person, and having someone or something be able to reach into his mind was...unsettling. He was fond of her, as he had told Newt, but only in the way that one might be fond of a slightly irritating younger sibling. He could only imagine what it would be like once she grew up...and that was a problem in and of itself. 

The sound of the door brought him out of his thoughts; he looked up as Newt walked in.

The young man smiled. "Well don't you two look cute."

Hermann felt himself blush, and quickly scoffed to cover it. "I am hardly cute. And neither is she."

Newt grinned. "Bullshit. You're adorable." he sat down beside Hermann; Owl lifted her head with a happy squeak. 

《NEWT!》

"Hey buddy!" the scientist affectionately scratched her chin before turning to Hermann. "Everything's ready."

"So...what now?"

"Now we wait."

~**  ☆☆  **~

Newt and Hermann returned to the lab and spent the remainder of the day trying to focus on their work. Hermann solved the same calculations several times, while Newt tinkered aimlessly around his side of the lab. Dinner came and went; the clock read 9:00...then 10:00...11:00...midnight...then Newt was shaking Hermann awake and it was half-past-two.

"Hermann. C'mon babe. Let's get this show on the road." 

The mathematician awoke with a groan. After a moment he grabbed his cane, stood up, and stifled a yawn. "Well, I suppose it's now or never." 

They made their way through darkened halls to the storage room, peering left and right as they went. Owl was still awake when they arrived, wandering nervously. She perked up at the sight of them and immediately began to chatter and trill. 

《HERMANNNEWT GOOD HI STAY》

"Hey Owl!" Newt patted the kaiju's scaly back, eliciting a low purr of pleasure. "You ready to go, kiddo?" This stopped her in her tracks. 

《...WHERE??》

"I told you this morning, remember? It'll be okay, I promise. You'll have a new room and lots more space, and we'll be right there with you. I mean, not all the time, cause Herm and I hafta work, but y'know-"

"-Newton."

"Right, sorry." Newt brought one hand out from behind his back; it held a large chicken, which he waved tantalizingly in front of Owl. "I got somethin' for you," he sang. 

《FOOD!! WANT》

The scientist gently lifted the chicken out of the way of the kaiju's long blue tongue. He backed away a few steps, and she mimicked his movement. Hermann put a gentle hand on Owl's flank to urge her forward and, with her attention fixed on the chicken, they stepped out into the pitch-dark hallway. 

~**  ☆☆  **~

The trio made an odd sight as they sneaked across the Shatterdome: a short, bespectacled, scruffy young man with brightly-tattooed arms; a bony, slightly older man, walking slouched and stiff against his cane; and between them, a baby kaiju, nine feet long from nose to tail, her electric-blue tongue darting out toward the chicken dangling from Newt's hand. They walked quickly, going through rarely-used hallways and keeping to the shadows as much as possible. If they spoke at all, it was in hurried whispers of "go left" or "turn right" or "keep going". Owl frequently got distracted, and it took no small amount of effort from both men to get her moving again. 

Newt had never been more nervous. Every noise made him jump; several times, he was almost sure he saw the Marshal watching him from the shadows. His heart was racing. Hermann felt very much the same, though he tried not to show it. He kept one hand on Owl's scaly, dark-gray flank, feeling the alien heartbeat under his palm and finding it oddly comforting. Her voice was a nearly-constant whine in the scientists' minds which grew more petulant by the minute. 

《WANT》

《FOOD WANT》

《WANT!!!》

At last, after nearly an hour of walking, they were almost at their destination: a flight of stairs was all that stood between them and the warehouse. With some coaxing from Newt and pushing from Hermann, Owl made her way down. 

Step

by

step

by

step

they went; Newt walked sideways, still dangling the chicken in front of Owl's nose, while Hermann urged her on from behind. 20 steps...15...10...5...then they were at the bottom- and everything fell apart. Owl stopped abruptly and refused to budge, in spite of Hermann pushing at her flank. Her eyes were wide, and all five nostrils were flared, sniffing cautiously at the musty air. 

《WHO?》

Newt turned around to comfort her. "What d'you mean, 'who'? It's just us." Owl ducked away from his hand. 

"Ah..not anymore." Hermann whispered behind him. Newt spun around. 

Standing at the foot of the stairs was Raleigh Becket, wearing an expression of mixed horror and surprise as he took in the scene. For the space of a few breaths, no-one moved. Raleigh closed his eyes tightly for a moment, then gradually opened them. 

"Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this." the Ranger said slowly.

Newt's mouth jumped into action before his brain could stop it. "Nonono, we're uh, we're figments of your imagination, we aren't really even here, especially the, uh, monster. That's definitely not here. In fact-"

"Oh, for the love of- for once in your life, Newton, be quiet." hissed Hermann. Newt gratefully snapped his mouth shut. Meanwhile, the mathematician edged down the stairs toward Raleigh. "Mr. Becket, I know how this must look," he said quietly, "but I promise you, we can explain."

"You'd better." Raleigh answered, "'cause you're going to tell the whole Shatterdome about it." one hand reached for the fire alarm beside him. 

"NO. Please, just listen." Hermann continued to creep toward the Ranger. Behind him, Owl rumbled a soft warning growl deep in her chest. "Dr. Geiszler and I will explain everything to you- but not here." 

Raleigh's hand still hovered over the fire alarm. "Give me one good reason why I should listen to you." he demanded. "I mean, I might have expected something like this from him-" he pointed to Newt, who was sidling past him. "But not YOU, Gottlieb."

"But if you're gonna report us, you might as well know why you're doing it, right?" ventured Newt, once he and Owl were standing beside Hermann.

"What, like walking that thing around the Shatterdome like it's a goddamn dog isn't enough??"

"...C'mon, at least hear us out before you tell on us."

The Ranger sighed and wearily ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, fine." he conceded. "I'm too tired to argue...but this had better be good."

~**  ☆☆  **~

"...And that's pretty much it."

Newt and Hermann were seated on crates across from Raleigh, who sat with his head in his hands as he listened to their story. Behind them, Owl sniffed industriously at the warehouse floor.

The Ranger lifted his head to stare at the scientists. "I can't believe you're actually doing this. It's stupid, and it's dangerous- and probably illegal. I don't know why I haven't reported you already."

"That is exactly what I have tried to tell him." sighed Hermann.

"Hey, whose side are you on??" snapped Newt in return. "You haven't exactly refused to help, DARLING." Hermann rolled his eyes.

"Guys, please."

"Sorry." Newt cast a sidelong look at Hermann.

"So who knows about this, aside from me?"

"Nobody."

"Not even the Marshal?"

"No...should he?"

Raleigh rubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed. "Unless you want him to hear about it on his own- which he will, and it won't be pretty. You guys would lose your jobs, you'd be arrested, and you'd probably go to jail, and the kaiju would be seized and carted off to some laboratory. You'd never see it again, and you might not see each other again either."

Hermann stared at his feet, and Newt cringed. 

"Look, guys." Raleigh continued. "I can't believe I'm saying it, but...if you want me to, I'll help you. I could, I dunno, feed the kaiju, or help keep an eye on it, or whatever you need."

"Seriously??" Newt's eyes lit up.

"Yeah. But for now," Raleigh yawned, "I'm going to bed. You two should do the same." he stood up and ambled toward the door. Suddenly, Hermann was beside him, stopping the Ranger with his cane.

"I need your word that our conversation will not leave this room." the mathematician said grimly. 

"I promise. Not a word. Not even to Mako." 

Hermann looked him up and down, then lowered his cane. "I certainly hope so." With a wary look back at Newt, Hermann, and Owl, Raleigh slipped out of the room, and all was quiet. 

 

~**  ★★★  **~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to knightphoenix2 for providing the idea for this chapter! :)
> 
> (I'm sorry for taking so long to finish this chapter; final exams were this week, and I haven't had much time for anything else.)


End file.
